Kate Booth, solicitor and head of our Family & Matrimonial team, comments after new research revealed that divorced women typically have £53,160 less in pension savings than divorced men.

Women depart divorces with an average of £32,640 in pension savings, amounting to just 39% of the £85,800 retained by divorced men, according to the research from Mercer, now:pensions and the Pensions Policy Institute.

The findings also show a significant pension wealth gap among married couples, with men holding £111,540 and women’s average pension funds at just £43,656 – a difference of 61%.

Kate explains that the research, to be released in full in the 2026 Gender Pensions Gap report, should remind couples to make sure pension assets are properly considered in divorce settlements.

“When divorcing, most couples will have thought about what will happen with the family home, and how to divide joint accounts, but many do not consider their pensions following separation.

Pensions can make up a significant proportion of a family’s assets and can sometimes be more valuable than a property. However, because they won’t start to pay out until retirement, they are often overlooked.  

One spouse might find that they have received lower income over the course of the marriage, working part-time or taking on more of the childcare responsibilities.

Because of this, they might not have had as much opportunity as their partner to build up their own pension fund, leaving them in a significantly weaker position when they retire.   

It is important to be aware that all pensions – regardless of whose name they are in, or when they were built up – can be shared between separated spouses under a Pension Sharing Order made by the court on divorce.

It is important to make sure that both parties’ financial needs can be met in the future – this includes their need for income during retirement. 

A pension sharing order will transfer part of one spouse’s pension into a separate fund for the other, giving them their own source of income and enabling there to be a financial clean break.”

Contact us if you require assiatance with this matter.

Our experienced family lawyers can provide you with the divorce advice and representation you need to secure the right outcome for yourself and your family. We have a strong understanding of pension division in divorce, and we will discuss your circumstances in detail so that you have a clear picture of your options.

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Divorced couples are leaving themselves exposed to the risk of future financial claims from their ex-spouses by not formally finalising financial settlements, warns our Family & Matrimonial team.

Those who apply for a divorce online are often not aware that this will only end the marriage – a divorce does not end the financial links between a couple says Kate Booth, Head of Family and Matrimonial.

“If, after a divorce you go on to earn good money and build a decent nest egg, or if you win the lottery or make a substantial sum on the sale of a house, as the law stands your ex has every right legally to make a claim against you unless you obtained a financial clean break.

This is even more of a risk if illness or accident has left your ex out of pocket or unable to work and where the court considers they need financial provision.

We advise couples with no joint assets to still formally cut all financial ties.

We would still advise people to ensure they have a clean break from their ex at the point of divorce in the form of a Consent Order. They don’t need to go to court for this – it can be submitted for a judge to approve on paper.

Couples who are avoiding solicitors’ fees to save money, for example in the case of amicable spouses who decide to organise their divorce and assets themselves, could end up paying more in the long run.

We’ve had clients approaching us for help when their ex-spouse has come back to make a claim on the former family home. In the time they’ve been separated the client may have carried on paying the mortgage and the property has increased in value, so their ex may feel they have nothing to lose by making a claim.

We have also advised clients who agreed when they separated that one would keep the house while the other retained their pension.

While this may suit at the time of separation, the person who has agreed to keep the house must factor in that they will also need an income after they retire.

This won’t matter so much if the couple is in their 20s or 30s and they still have time ahead to build up their own pension, but if they’re older it’s something they need to think about. If one person focused on raising the children while their partner was the breadwinner, they may have limited – if any – pension of their own.

When deciding how the assets should be shared, it is important to look at the how their needs can be met when they retire.

This is something both parties need to think about.”

For further advice on the above, or for any other family or matrimonial law related matter, please contact our expert team who will be happy to assist.

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A couple planning to take a stepchild on a break may not realise they need the other biological parent’s consent if both parents share Parental Responsibility, a legal term surroundingthe rights, duties, powers, responsibilities, and authorities a parent has in relation to a child under the law.

All mothers will automatically have Parental Responsibility together with fathers who are registered on the birth certificate. They will not lose it if they are divorced, or the civil partnership is dissolved. 

The issue is growing in importance with the increase in the number of ‘blended’ families, where each partner has children from a previous relationship. Roughly 1.1 million children in England and Wales live in blended families, according to UK Government figures.

Family & Matrimonial Solicitor, Natasha Aspinall says:

“There is a common misconception that those who hold Parental Responsibility in relation to their child or children automatically have a right to take their child abroad. This is incorrect, the term Parental Responsibility attempts to focus on the parents’ duties toward their child rather than the parents’ rights over the child.

The general day-to-day decisions should be made by the parent with whom the children reside without interference from the other parent, subject to any additional provisions.  Important decisions regarding a child, such as taking a child abroad for an extended stay for example, need to be made by everyone with Parental Responsibility for the child.

If a blended family wants to go on a break, it’s generally necessary to obtain the other parent’s agreement. If the biological parent doesn’t agree, you might need to apply to the court for permission. No one wants to discover this when the bags are waiting by the doorway and the airport taxi is booked.

What time each parent is to spend with a child is to be agreed between the parties and if an agreement cannot be reached then either party will need to make an application to the court for a Child Arrangements Order (CAO). A CAO is a legally binding court order in the UK that specifies where a child will live, who they will spend time with, and the nature of that contact. The court will expect the parties to have engaged in mediation before the application is made.

CAOs let each parent, as well as their new partners, know where they stand and prevent misunderstandings and disagreement, leading to more stability for the child, It also helps ease any uncertainty for the parent that does not live with the child by alleviating any anxiety they may have about feeling like the ‘lesser’ parent.”  

If you need advice on any Parental Responsibility related matters, please talk to us. Whatever the circumstance, we can advise on and apply for parental responsibility if required.

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Our expertise runs across the full breadth of family law and covers:

• Divorce and Separation
• Financial Settlements
• Cohabitation
• Pre-Nuptial Agreements
• Children
• Emergency Injunctions

Meet the team

Kate Booth

Our team is headed up by Solicitor Kate Booth. Kate joined BTTJ as Head of Department in October 2021. Kate qualified as a solicitor in 2006 and has specialised in family law throughout her career, at firms in Warwickshire and the West Midlands.

Kate deals with private family law cases including divorce and related financial matters, children, injunction and cohabitation issues. She also advises clients in connection with pre-nuptial and cohabitation agreements. Kate ensures that she is fully informed of developments in the law and has a thorough approach to the preparation of documents to ensure her clients’ interests are protected.

Kate works across our Coventry & Warwick offices.

Natasha Aspinall

Natasha qualified as a Solicitor in 2003. She joined us in our Family & Matrimonial department in November 2022, based out of our Balsall Common office.

Natasha joined us from a local Solicitors firm where she worked as Head of the Family Law department for 5 years.

She deals with a whole range of family matters whether they are straight forward or very complex.

Natasha is also a member of the Law Society‘s Family Law Panel. The Law Society developed the specialised Children Panel Accreditation Scheme for solicitors who specialise in this area. Membership depends on meeting the Law Society’s rigorous standards. 

Samantha Chater

Specialising in Matrimonial Law, Samantha qualified as a solicitor in 1996.  She has a wealth of experience in acting for clients in divorce, Children Act matters, the division of marital finances, injunctions where clients have been the victim of domestic violence and cohabitee disputes. Samantha also deals with pre-Nuptial agreements and special guardianship applications. Her years of experience have been recognised by her acquiring two solicitor accreditations.

Samantha has represented parents and children in complex Children Act Disputes.  Samantha has had one of her cases reported on when it went to the Court of Appeal on a significant issue as to whether an alleged perpetrator of abuse could cross-examine the alleged victim or whether the state should fund an advocate to do so.

Samantha is well known and well established in her field particularly for her professionalism, commitment, hard work and for being approachable.  Consequently, she enjoys a number of recommendations from previous clients and other professionals. Samantha works across our Coventry and Southam offices.

Nancy Tebbutt

Nancy joined BTTJ in November 2022 as Paralegal and was promoted to the position of Trainee Solicitor in September 2024. Nancy has continued her training within our Family & Matrimonial team.

Nancy started her LLB at Royal Holloway, University of London in September 2019 and graduated with first class honours in July 2022.

She started working towards her LPC LLM in September 2023, passing with distinction from BPP university.

Nancy is a member of the Warwickshire Law Society Warwickshire Junior Lawyers Division.

Our Solicitors also have dedicated support in their legal secretarial support team comprising of Dawn, Michelle and Jane.

As members of Resolution, our Family Team work in accordance with their Code of Practice to deal with matters in a constructive manner. Our solicitors work with you to provide support and explore all options including not only the court process, but other methods of dispute resolution to best suit your individual needs.

As a long-established family law department, we have close links with and immediate access to specialist barristers, financial advisors and accountants, all of whom we know to be professional, sympathetic and highly competent.  Our focus is always to ensure that your interests are protected.

We pride ourselves on being able to listen and understand precisely what you want, without making any assumptions of what we think you may need.

We have offices in Coventry, Warwick, Southam and Balsall Common and our solicitors work across the whole of the Coventry and Warwickshire region and beyond. Please contact us to see how we can assist.

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Our Family and Matrimonial team are seeing an increasing number of cases where the well-meaning ‘Bank of Mum and Dad’ is trying to retrieve its money from their child’s former partner or spouse following a split.

With one in three first time property purchases made by couples attempting to overcome the UK’s unaffordable housing market we are expecting the tidal wave of enquiries to continue in the coming months and years as relationships break down.

In most cases the disputes are over whether the cash was initially intended as a gift or a loan. But without a prior formal agreement it can be difficult to prove intent at the time, leaving the other party room to argue it was a gift that doesn’t need to be repaid.

“The difficulty occurs when what was an informal arrangement is later looked at in a different light. What was a non-issue in happier times can become a significant area of dispute.”

It is important for a court to make the distinction, as gifts will be included in the matrimonial pot of assets to be distributed upon divorce whereas loans are classed as a liability to be repaid. In such cases, loans will be deducted from the total assets which results in less overall to divide.

The loan can often represent a significant portion of the assets so it really does make a difference as to whether or not it is an asset that can be split, or something that will not be entered into the calculations.

Issues can be further complicated by whether the courts are dealing with hard liabilities – mortgages, credit cards or commercial loan repayments – or “soft” liabilities such as loans from family and friends without formal repayment terms. In such cases of soft liabilities a court may decide there is less priority for repayment.

When acting for a person whose family has advanced the money and is insisting it needs to be repaid, we will look for evidence that supports it was a loan. Is there a written agreement? Were there emails? Have repayments been made? Quite often we find there may have been really large payments made shortly before the issue of proceedings. In such cases we will go through bank statements, ask questions on such payments and request further evidence.

Where property is concerned, parents should consider registering a charge over the title to the property, which in effect sets out clearly that the loan is there to be repaid.

Pre and post nuptial agreements also offer very clear protection while declarations of trust between parents and their children and / or their children’s spouses also give a clear record of intent.

For further advice on this… or any other Family and Matrimonial matters, please contact our expert team who will be happy to assist.

Article written by Head of Family and Matrimonial, Solicitor Kate Booth.

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Partners on a lower salary – usually women – are subject to a steep drop in income, after a marriage breakdown – especially in the first 12 months – with one in five admitting to not even being able to meet essential costs.

But couples are not taking advantage of the professional help available to ensure a fair settlement for both parties in the event of a divorce.

The courts are there to ensure a fair outcome for both parties which includes helping the person on the lower income to  transition into a life of financial independence. Many people don’t realise, but a 50-50 split is in most cases only a starting point for a separation. It doesn’t have to end at 50-50 if that would leave one party really struggling.

In the event of a family home being sold as a result of a divorce the courts, where possible, will seek to help the person on the lower income back on to the property ladder, even if it means granting a larger share of the proceeds of the sale of the house to that person.

In addition, an ex-spouse is also entitled to a share of their former partner’s pension at the point of settlement, rather than waiting until their partner reaches the pensionable age. The money is then able to re-invested into another pension scheme for that person.

We generally receive clients through the door when they can’t reach what they deem a fair settlement with their former partner. But what is more difficult to measure is how many people don’t use the help of a court and are settling for far less than they are entitled to.”

Statistics* show that at the point of divorce men have an average £60,000 in their pension pot as opposed to £23,000 for women.

In the first 12 months after a divorce a woman’s income will fall by an average 41 per cent while a man’s will fall by 21 per cent.

Twenty-four per cent of women face financial struggles after divorce, compared to 18 per cent of men, and 21 per cent of women struggle to even pay for essentials, compared with 13 per cent of men.

Thirty per cent of women are more likely to waive their right to their partner’s pension, as opposed to 17 per cent of men.

*Statistics from Opinium Research on behalf of Legal & General.

Divorce is a life-changing situation and we want that experience to be as stress-free as possible. Our solicitors can assist with all aspects of divorce, from the initial issuing of the divorce petition, all the way through to obtaining the final order. For further information please contact our Family and Matrimonial department.

Article written by Solicitor and Head of Family and Matrimonial, Kate Booth.

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If negotiation and mediation fail, an application to the Court may be required. The Court will automatically appoint Cafcass to commence their involvement and investigate matters. 

Cafcass is an acronym for Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service.  They are effectively the eyes and ears of the Court and are an independent organisation who will, as part of their work, investigate any safeguarding welfare concerns, potentially speak to the children and report back to the Court as to their findings and what their recommendations will be about the children’s care. 

The initial safeguarding report will be timetabled by the Court requiring Cafcass to give an initial view as to whether matters can resolve via mediation or by negotiation or if a further in-depth report , known as a section 7 report, is required. The section 7 report can commonly take at least 12 to 15 weeks to be prepared and is intended to be a detailed assessment of the children’s situation.

Cafcass will consider within their report what they think is in the best interest of the children. when making their recommendations they will take into account the provisions of The Welfare Checklist which is set out in the Children Act 1989. This includes considering the case in light of the child or children’s age, sex, developmental needs, health needs, level of understanding, any risk factors and their wishes and feelings.

Such a report will aid the Court in making decisions as to children’s long-term care and the time they spend with each of their parents. Cafcass therefore is extremely influential to the Court in their recommendations.  

Our team of experienced solicitors can advise and assist parents concerning their applications in relation to the care of their children. We can assist with advising parents in respect of their application and representing them throughout and within the Court proceedings.

For help and advice on the above or any other family or matrimonial matter please contact our team who will be happy to assist.  We have offices in Coventry, Warwick, Balsall Common and Southam and cover the whole of the Coventry and Warwickshire area & beyond.

Article written by Samantha Chater, Family and Matrimonial Solicitor.

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More people planning their second, third or fourth marriage are entering into pre-nuptial agreements with their future spouse.

Older people who have previously had a bad experience and are looking to re-marry are among those most commonly seeking a pre-nup.

These factors are leading to a rise in pre-nuptial agreement enquiries for our Family and Matrimonial team.

Kate Booth, Head of our Family and Matrimonial department says:

“Over recent years the importance of pre-nups has grown. Historically they were not binding, but now they will hold sway in court when it can be shown that the agreement is fair to both parties. Both need to have had ample opportunity to seek independent legal advice, the agreement needs to be signed by both parties well in advance of the marriage and both parties must have given full disclosure about their personal finances before the marriage took place.

With all these things together the court will recognise that the pre-nuptial agreement was entered into together and in that case, it can be binding.

Where it can get complicated is when circumstances change – for example if children come along. In cases such as these it is all about reviewing and updating any initial agreement, so it remains relevant to the present-day family situation.

More than just factoring in financial situations a pre-nup offers the opportunity to look at the whole picture, taking all assets into account, ranging from family businesses to pets.

There may be someone with his or her own business or they may have a part of their family business. In this instance pre-nups are a useful tool to avoid a former spouse from staking a claim.”

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For further advice on pre-nuptial arrangements, or any other Family or Matrimonial related matters, please contact our friendly team who will be happy to assist.

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For some this may not be a huge issue as any pensions you may have may be insignificant or may have been frozen years previous however, for others who have continued in their employment and particularly if they have public sector pensions such as with the NHS, Teachers Pension Scheme, the MOD (Military) or indeed the Police then those pensions can be extremely valuable. 

An important case dealing with this issue was decided in 2020 which has now paved the way as to how we approach this issue.  The case confirmed that setting aside the amount of a person’s Pension which accrued pre marriage or post marriage, is inconsistent with the way in which non matrimonial property is treated in divorce. Most divorce cases will be needs cases which means that the focus will be on the needs of both husband and wife rather than on arguments as to who contributed what. It is important therefore to appreciate that in needs  cases the timing and source of the pension savings is not necessarily relevant. What this means in simple terms is that in reality the whole of your pension could be taken into consideration and open to division between you and your ex-spouse regardless of when it was accumulated. Therefore, if you and your ex-spouse have been separated for 15 years but have not yet divorced then the amount of your pension which has built up over that 15 year period could also be open to division between you and your ex-spouse upon divorce.

In many cases that we deal with Pensions may be the largest asset or at least the second largest asset and for those who hold that Pension fund they can be extremely reluctant for any of that pension fund to be shared with their ex-spouse. It is therefore vital that individuals obtain legal advice as soon after the parties have separated as possible in order that they are aware of all of the implications.

For further advice on matrimonial assets, or any other family and matrimonial reated matters, please get in contact with our friendly, experience Family and Matrimonial team.

Article written by Natasha Aspinall.

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When advising clients in this respect we are guided by factors set out in Section 25 of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 – as is the Court.  The parties’ needs and ensuring fairness are important when looking at a division of the matrimonial assets and liabilities – taking into account all of the circumstances of the case. Children under the age of 18 are a priority also and their housing needs are important when making decisions about financial settlement. 

Whilst coming to an agreement about the division of matrimonial finances is important, it is also equally important to ensure that the agreement is reflected in a  document known as a Consent Order. This should be signed by both parties and approved by the Court to make it legally binding. 

Additionally, when providing the Consent Order to the Court for consideration, a further document known as a Statement of Information is required to give background detail about the parties’ assets and the circumstances behind  the decision making.  The statement of information will require disclosure of the parties’ assets in very broad terms to give the Court the background information that it requires to consider whether the agreement is fair taking into account all of the circumstances of each individual case.  

Even if there are no assets or liabilities to consider, it is advisable to have a clean break Consent Order to show there will be no further claims one against the other either now or in the future as to any capital or indeed as to any income. 

A Consent Order can deal with the transfer of property, payment of lump sums, a Pension Sharing Order (where one party shares their pension with the other party), spousal maintenance and also critically whether there is a clean break between the parties or whether there is an ongoing duty to pay spousal maintenance which can be set at a level of joint lives or a term of time such as years. 

Parties may sometimes not be aware that where there are children, there is an ongoing obligation to pay child maintenance regardless of whether there is a clean break in the divorce.  Where there is dispute about child maintenance, then the parties’ recourse is to make an application to the Child Maintenance Service to assess how much maintenance should be paid.

Samantha Chater in our Family Law team has found that those clients who can try and negotiate settlement between the two of them via mediation or with the assistance of one of our solicitors in the Family Department can expect to keep their costs to a minimum as it is always advisable to negotiate and try and settle where possible. 

For further advice and support please contact our friendly Family Law Team, we have four local offices covering the Coventry, Warwickshire and beyond.

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